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Peaches Geldof dead, age 25
jwhouk:
Kinda sounds like she had two very weighty problems: being the daughter of two very famous people (at least in Britain), and having "my mom's dead" issues.
And GM - please turn in any cred you had for knowing anything non-military prior to 1985, please. Even I know who Bob Geldof is. ("And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime...")
Barmymoo:
I'm incredibly sad about another person dying in their twenties and leaving behind small children, but minor digression to observe that I fucking hate that song. Of course they sodding well know it's Christmas. In 2000 there were an estimated 380 million Christians in the continent of Africa (which is NOT one homogenous mass full of starving poor people). Also, no rain or rivers flow? What about the NILE, the world's largest and most famous river ever?!
jwhouk:
Do remember it was directed towards Ethiopia, and it was supposed to bring forth a feeling towards people in the UK (and the rest of the world) to help.
Hearing that song now does make me realize how dated it sounds, but it was an incredible thing for its time. It not only inspired others to do similar works ("We Are The World" and "Tears Are Not Enough" come to mind), but it also led to Live Aid.
Bob did a lot to deserve that Nobel Prize.
Barmymoo:
Africa and Ethiopia aren't synonyms, though. I agree that it did a lot to get people to help, but it also did a lot to cement the White Saviour mentality that people still have towards Africa. It's a vast continent and conflating the genuine and serious problems that exist in some parts of some countries with the experience of every country and person on that continent isn't all that positive either. The lyrics are just uncomfortably close to the "poor savage heathen" mentality of the colonialist period.
Thrillho:
The song sucks a bag of dicks, on a number of levels, but the song being any good was never the point.
If we are debating this, though, I'd say 'We Are The World' is the far more alarming song even from the title downwards.
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